#2 2008-05-29 16:17:42
Isn't Taibbi a Jew? It's not like he really has room to throw stones on this issue.
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#3 2008-05-29 16:36:49
I thought he was an Arab, actually. This is kind of one of his dickier efforts--I usually love his stuff, but his one-dimensional depiction of the Krees-chuns is really killing the veracity for me. He was better shadowing the Fred Thompson campaign.
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#4 2008-05-29 16:46:19
The experience was certainly interesting to read about; but I can't help feeling that we'd have gotten more depth of perspective from someone who had a background in the faith--at least a general one--rather than someone raised in a non-Christian faith.
As a child I attended Baptist services once a week--twice a week, parts of the year, and "Bible Camp" most summers--and I've always thought my early upbringing was pretty Fundamentalist hardcore...but there were never ANY goings-on as dog-bitin' wacko as what's described here.
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#5 2008-05-29 17:38:12
No more disconnected than most western "experts" on what Islam means to the man in the souk.
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#6 2008-05-29 19:47:39
George Orr wrote:
The experience was certainly interesting to read about; but I can't help feeling that we'd have gotten more depth of perspective from someone who had a background in the faith--at least a general one--rather than someone raised in a non-Christian faith.
As a child I attended Baptist services once a week--twice a week, parts of the year, and "Bible Camp" most summers--and I've always thought my early upbringing was pretty Fundamentalist hardcore...but there were never ANY goings-on as dog-bitin' wacko as what's described here.
As educational levels have gone up, most reasonable people have left behind the more backward literalist brands of Christianity and the pews have become filled with retarded and emotionally disturbed individuals who are preyed upon by conmen.
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#7 2008-05-29 20:13:31
George Orr wrote:
As a child I attended Baptist services... ...but there were never ANY goings-on as dog-bitin' wacko as what's described here.
Things have changed George. Hellfire and damnation are no longer enough, the religious right has gone all weird and nihlist on us.
The whole idea behind Christian Zionism is to align America with the nation of Israel so as to "hurry God up" in his efforts to bring about Armageddon.
GooberMcNutly wrote:
No more disconnected than most western "experts" on what Islam means to the man in the souk.
Amen.
fnord wrote:
As educational levels have gone up, most reasonable people have left behind the more backward literalist brands of Christianity and the pews have become filled with retarded and emotionally disturbed individuals who are preyed upon by conmen.
No fnord, as educational levels have gone down, the dwindling population of reasonable people have left behind the more backward ways of religion, and the pews have become filled with the retarded and emotionally disturbed majority.
But hey, In šaʾ Allāh
Last edited by opsec (2008-05-29 20:14:22)
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#8 2008-05-29 20:22:05
fnord wrote:
...the pews have become filled with retarded and emotionally disturbed individuals who are preyed upon by conmen.
And by demons. Don't forget the demons!
This little bit of semantic gymnastics helped transform all of us at the retreat from being merely fucked up to being accursed carriers of demons. Having ridden an almost entirely secular program to get our biographies out in the open in a group setting, Fortenberry could now switch his focus to the real meat and potatoes of the weekend: Satan and the devils inside us.
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